Transcriptomic Profiles in Nasal Epithelium and Asthma Endotypes in Youth.

Importance: T helper 2 (T2) cells and T helper 17 (T17) cells are CD4+ T cell subtypes involved in asthma. Characterizing asthma endotypes based on these cell types in diverse groups is important for developing effective therapies for youths with asthma.

Objective: To identify asthma endotypes in school-aged youths aged 6 to 20 years by examining the distribution and characteristics of transcriptomic profiles in nasal epithelium.

High incidence of tuberculosis in young children living with HIV in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Background: Data on tuberculosis (TB) incidence and risk factors among children living with HIV (CLHIV) in the universal ART era are limited.

Methods: We analysed routinely-collected data on TB diagnoses for CLHIV age ≤5 years, born 2018-2022, in the Westen Cape, South Africa. We examined factors associated with TB diagnosis, with death and loss to follow-up as competing events.

Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Electrocardiography for Prediction of Incident Hypertension.

Importance: Hypertension underpins significant global morbidity and mortality. Early lifestyle intervention and treatment are effective in reducing adverse outcomes. Artificial intelligence-enhanced electrocardiography (AI-ECG) has been shown to identify a broad spectrum of subclinical disease and may be useful for predicting incident hypertension.

The SwiftScan step-and-shoot continuous mode improves SPECT scanning efficiency: a preliminary phantom and clinical test.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the value of SwiftScan Step-and-Shoot Continuous (SSC) scanning mode in enhancing image quality and to explore appropriate scanning parameters for reducing scan time.

Methods: This study was composed of a phantom study and two clinical tests. The differences in visual image quality scores, coefficient of variance (COV) of the background, image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and recovery coefficient (RC) of the sphere were compared between SSC mode and traditional Step-and-Shoot (SS) mode in the phantom study.

Effects of water and sediment chemistry variables on aquatic macroinvertebrate community structuring in a subtropical Austral river system.

Riverine physical and chemical characteristics are influencing ecosystem integrity while shaping and impacting species richness and diversity. Changes in these factors could potentially influence community structuring through competition, predation and localised species extinctions. In this study, eight sampling sites over multiple seasons were assessed along the streams draining the City of Nelspruit, South Africa, to examine river health based on water and sediment quality, while using macroinvertebrates as bioindicators for pollution.

Water quality assessment of Johor River Basin, Malaysia, using multivariate analysis and spatial interpolation method.

In the Johor River Basin, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on 24 water environmental parameters across 33 sampling sites over 3 years, encompassing both dry and wet seasons. A total of 396 water samples were collected and analyzed to calculate the Water Quality Index (WQI). To further assess water quality and pinpoint potential pollution sources, multivariate techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), alongside spatial analysis using inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation, were employed.

Activity Space Mapping and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual Minority Men in Small Cities and Towns in the United States.

In the US, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minoritized men (GBSMM) remain disproportionately impacted by HIV, and continue to experience unmet needs for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). A growing body of literature has underscored the need to consider the geographic factors of HIV prevention, particularly beyond administrative boundaries and towards localized spaces that influence the accessibility and utilization of health-promoting resources. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the associations of driving times from activity spaces to PrEP offering facilities and individual PrEP uptake.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of R6G dimerization during self-healing of gel.

Traditional surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates seeking uniformity and reproducibility of the Raman signal often assume and require that hot spots remain consistently stable during Raman testing. Recently, the non-uniform accumulation in SERS sample pre-concentration strategies have inspired the direct use of self-healing noble metal aerogels (NMAs), as the sample pretreatment presented in this work, and uncovered more diverse Raman information of substances during the dynamic process of laser irradiation. Rare characteristic peaks such as 820 cm⁻ for R6G within a specific concentration range were observed, and potential processes including R6G dimerization and desorption were analyzed.

Artificial intelligence-based cardiovascular/stroke risk stratification in women affected by autoimmune disorders: a narrative survey.

Women are disproportionately affected by chronic autoimmune diseases (AD) like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and Sjögren's syndrome. Traditional evaluations often underestimate the associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke risk in women having AD. Vitamin D deficiency increases susceptibility to these conditions.

Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogens Realizing High-Contrast Bioimaging.

A revolutionary transformation in biomedical imaging is unfolding with the advent of aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens). These cutting-edge molecules not only overcome the limitations of traditional fluorescent probes but also improve the boundaries of high-contrast imaging. Unlike conventional fluorophores suffering from aggregation-caused quenching, AIEgens exhibit enhanced luminescence when aggregated, enabling superior imaging performance.

Psychometric evaluation of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale in pregnant women.

Purpose: Although many women experience obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the perinatal period, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) has not yet been psychometrically evaluated in this population. This study examined the internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and factor structure of the YBOCS among pregnant women.

Methods: 256 Women who were 20 to 24 weeks pregnant completed the clinician-administered YBOCS and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) along with a series of self-report questionnaires including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) and Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R).

History of Multiple Allergies and Gradual Onset Running-Related Injuries in Distance Runners: SAFER XXXV.

Objective: To determine if any gradual onset running-related injury (GORRI) was associated with any allergies, multiple allergies (allergies to animals, plants, medication), and allergy medication use.

Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting: Two Oceans Marathons (56 km, 21.

FAIR data - the photon and neutron communities move together towards open science.

The topic of data storage, traceability, and data use and reuse in the years following experiments is becoming an important topic in Europe and across the world. Many scientific communities are striving to create open data by the FAIR principles. This is a requirement from the European Commission for EU-funded projects and experiments at EU-funded research infrastructures (RIs) and from many national funding agencies.

Interlaboratory assays from the fungal PCR Initiative and the Modimucor Study Group to improve qPCR detection of Mucorales DNA in serum: one more step toward standardization.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to identify parameters influencing DNA extraction and PCR amplification efficiencies in an attempt to standardize Mucorales qPCR. The Fungal PCR Initiative Mucorales Laboratory Working Group distributed two panels of simulated samples to 26 laboratories: Panel A (six sera spiked with Mucorales DNA and one negative control serum) and Panel B (six Mucorales DNA extracts). Panel A underwent DNA extraction in each laboratory according to the local procedure and were sent to a central laboratory for testing using three different qPCR techniques: one in-house qPCR assay and two commercial assays (MucorGenius and Fungiplex).

Validation of a simplified HPV genotyping assay designed for cervical screening in low-resource settings.

Unlabelled: Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype predicts cervical cancer risk, and genotyping could help guide the management of HPV positives as part of cervical screening. An isothermal amplification HPV extended genotyping test (ScreenFire HPV RS assay) can assay up to 96 samples/controls in 1 hour plus preparation time. A novel format with pre-aliquoted reagents and an anti-contamination component (Zebra BioDome) could simplify the HPV testing process and reduce the chances of post-amplification contamination.

Fertility preservation options at cancer diagnosis; classifying use and decision-making in the United States.

Introduction: Incidence rates for cancer among adolescent and young adults (AYA) have increased 30% since 1970. Declines in mortality underscore the importance of discussing fertility preservation (FP) options prior to receiving gonadotoxic treatments. National guidelines outline FP options including oocyte (OC), embryo (EC), and ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) for female AYA patients.

Systolic Blood Pressure and Pulse Pressure in Heart Failure: Pooled Participant-Level Analysis of 4 Trials.

Background: Hypertension is common in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (HFmrEF/HFpEF), and current guidelines recommend treating systolic blood pressure (SBP) to a target <130 mm Hg. However, data supporting treatment to this target are limited. Additionally, pulse pressure (PP), a marker of aortic stiffness, has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, but its prognostic impact in HFpEF has not been extensively studied.

Are we serologically prepared against an avian influenza pandemic and could seasonal flu vaccines help us?

The current situation with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) is causing a worldwide concern due to multiple outbreaks in wild birds, poultry, and mammals. Moreover, multiple zoonotic infections in humans have been reported. Importantly, HPAI H5N1 viruses with genetic markers of adaptation to mammals have been detected.

RamA upregulates the ATP-binding cassette transporter to mediate resistance to tetracycline-class antibiotics and the stability of membranes in .

Unlabelled: RamA is an intrinsic regulator in , belonging to the AraC family of transcription factors and conferring a multidrug resistance phenotype, especially for tetracycline-class antibiotics. The ATP-binding cassette transporters MlaFEDCB in bacteria play essential roles in functions essential for cell survival and intrinsic resistance to many antibiotics. We found deletion of resulted in a fivefold decrease in the transcriptional levels of the operon.

Neuronal Tracing and Visualization of Nerve Injury by a Membrane-Anchoring Aggregation-Induced Emission Probe.

Deciphering neuronal circuits is pivotal for deepening our understanding of neuronal functions and advancing treatments for neurological disorders. Conventional neuronal tracers suffer from restrictions such as limited penetration depth, high immunogenicity, and inadequacy for long-term and imaging. In this context, we introduce an aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen), MeOTFVP, engineered for enhanced neuronal tracing and imaging.